In our fields, there are no fences. And when I see nasty, divisive behaviors like interrupting, shaming, slandering, disregarding, plagiarizing, avoiding, condescending, taking advantage of, jacking up the rent and calling oneself King, Duke, or Benevolent Dictator, they are coupled with rationalizations about how doing the work is more important than how others feel about the way that work gets done. Decolonizing Permaculture: Bridging the gap between privilege and Self-righteousness is certainly not a principle of permaculture, and yet we divide ourselves so easily, bickering over the details and competing for resources. ARTY: Ive always felt like one of the big problems with agriculture is that it needs more biology, it needs more life, not less. I reached out to my close friends and eventually we found an article titled Decolonization is not a metaphor.[iii]. To me, again, thats a fallacy. Something to think about. Podcast: Decolonization & Sudden Oak Life By Melissa Ott Fant February 15, 2021 Education broadacre permaculture, decolonization, permaculture design course, Sudden Oak Life, traditional ecological knowledge Current PDC student Danielle created two podcast episodes from audio recordings at our Broadscale Permaculture weekend in February 2021. No previous permaculture experience is necessary to attend. Our intention is to invite proponents of western ecological agriculture (e.g., regenerative ag / permaculture) to go deeper and encourage their peers to go deeperto not just 'take' practices from Indigenous cultures without their context, but to also encompass the deeper Indigenous worldviews inspiring a consciousness shift that hopefully will Rather than being burdened with that task, the idea that we respect the unknown helps people deal with it. As a community steeped in the ecological design model known as Permaculture, Earthaven is taking a good long look at the ways in which the Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share movement has fallen short on the inclusion of black and brown voices, on addressing systemic injustices, on acknowledging where most land-based wisdom has originated. On the surface, permaculture is often about designing eco-groovy, perennially edible landscapes, gardens and farms. Decolonizing . But we never had enough money for rent. Watch keynote addresses, panel discussions, performances and more from visionary innovators. Decolonization is about upholding longstanding treaties, adherence to international law, and the return of genuine sovereignty and the administration of land use to First Nations peoples. I was like: What is this? These behaviors discredit the permaculture movement at large, and unless we can overcome them, our ultimate goal of sharing a true and authentic sustainability will remain far out of reach. Youre part of that system. Unfortunately, it is all too common for landowners in the permaculture world to treat their tenants, interns, and volunteers like peasant-slaves, and again, to justify it with excuses about how the work is so important for the world. Such a project is nothing more than another form of imposition upon the locals by another foreign interest. A-dae was interviewed by Arty Mangan, Director of the Bioneers Restorative Food Systems Program. For instance, my grandpa would take me to the field and tell a story about the last time he saw conditions like this and what his grandparents did. Its a very broad term. As a community steeped in the ecological design model known as Permaculture, Earthaven is taking a good long look at the ways in which the "Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share" movement has fallen . Decolonizing Permaculture: Bridging the gap between privilege and oppression by Heather Jo Flores A low-income community in Indiana, coming together to build a shared garden in somebody's front. Some open questions I still have revolve around issues of permaculture and its relationship to colonization. Decolonization doesnt have a synonym.. In contemporary agriculture, there are individualized, commodified resources like land, you can buy water, at one point in our history you could even buy somebodys body and health. They honor the wisdom of our ancestors to stimulate the health of humans and the planet, and their innovative economic model ensures economic stimulation for even the smallest farmers. In collective resources management, a variety of skills are needed because youre not only dealing with people, but youre also dealing with relationships and how to balance those relationships. Lee Warren EarthShine also includes her Eco-Hood Design-and-Build Project along with Soulstice, which introduces young folks to careers theyve never heard of. This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. She served as garden educator and camp director at the Truly Living Well Center for Urban Agriculture for eight years. In an ideal process here in North America, determining the future of settler people would be a separate process of negotiation between the newly repatriated indigenous governance structure and the settler peoples. And as you describe, the thrust is to kill off the pests, kill off the weeds, destroy and kill and create the monocrop. Think of it as regenerative design that heals and repairs ecosystems while at the same time producing beneficial yields. So, that means, I need to plant more. Were adjusting to our environment rather than trying to keep everything out. We seek to learn from it, adapt with it, and collaborate, rather than to control, manipulate, and abuse it. In that sense, I think there is some awareness that there needs to be more inclusion of non-white people in the organic community. We need people to understand why its important to have healthy soil and why its important that you have a healthy root system that sequesters water. And we dont want you to feel bad about it. We just want you to do something to change it. ARTY: The late Joseph Campbell, professor and author of books on mythology, said that Indigenous Peoples refer to the natural world and all in it as thou, as sacred. It gives the ethic of People Care teeth. This matters because an injury to one is an injury to all. Resilience is a program of Post Carbon Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the world transition away from fossil fuels and build sustainable, resilient communities. Then they came for meand there was no one left to speak for me. What Is Permaculture? | Earth Activist Training Decolonizing Permaculture The Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain Permaculture and Indigenous Wisdom December 6, 2021 Decolonizing Permaculture: Steps Forward in Acknowledging the Past By: Meg Toben A few months ago, I posted a request to Facebook for an indigenous permaculture co-teacher for our Permaculture Foundations Certificate Program. Full disclosure: I did not buy this one, or a photograph thereof, from an indigenous person. The conversation about decolonizing agriculture is about examining the agricultural system and concepts that allow for those injustices to happen. If SOIL cancels this class for any reason whatsoever, you would receive a 100% refund. Science rather than trying to count carbon, should work to explain to the Western scientific world why these stewarded places are so important and why these practices should be continued. Download a sample from the Decolonizing Permaculture issue here (19MB). Arent these all of the same qualities we want for our permaculture community at large? How should this principle inform the actions of ethical people who benefit from skin and gender privilege in general? We want to create systems that are rebirthing a healthy environment. In places like the Amazon or here in California where the Mono people are still doing traditional burns, or places along the rivers where Indigenous People are stewarding the salmon and the salmon burial grounds, those are some of the healthiest soils. My term is coming to an end, and I hope they replace me with another indigenous person, but thats a political process, which is pretty crazy presently. So an injury to one is an injury to all should be understood in light of Neimollers poem First they came for the Socialists: First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak outBecause I was not a Socialist. These are a few thoughts Im left with. As Moore (2015) points out, "all life rebels against the value/monoculture nexus of modernity, from farm to . A-DAE: Yes. When we talk about decolonizing regenerative agriculture, we are looking at that initial definition. In order to be successful farmers, we have to learn how to adjust to those environmental changes from the beings in that natural environment. Permaculture on the edge: building an anti/despite/post-capitalist I have tried to work on group certification for tribal communities, but again these are systems that are massive, and it takes way more than me to make really lasting change. Copyright 2023 Permaculture Women's Guild & Heather Jo Flores. There are a lot more specialized skills in the individual land plot scenario. If I hadnt been able to hustle up several thousand dollars trimming weed in California last winter (to hire an attorney) I would have lost the Food Not Lawns trademark forever. Im here to help make the world a more just and sustainable place for my daughter and all the other children in the world, those alive today as well as those of future generations. Wilderness Skills - Santa Cruz Permaculture Well explore how the concepts of colonization, power-over, and dominator thinking have pervaded modern culture and offer suggestions about how to move towards a more holistic, equitable, integrated, and life-centered mindset. Scientific inquiry and the scientific field is fairly young compared to the natural systems that were trying to mimic. But we still need to learn how to adopt those ideals in our human relationships. A-DAE: Agriculture, as were told in the American narrative, is the delineating line between civilization and the wild Indians. As a community steeped in the ecological design model known as Permaculture, Earthaven is taking a good long look at the ways in which the "Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share" movement has fallen short on the inclusion of black and brown voices, on addressing systemic injustices, on acknowledging where most land-based wisdom has originated. The course will address the first four permaculture principles through the framework of African land-based wisdom, (Cherokee) earth-based (non-European) language, and the common uses at Earthaven Ecovillage. But its a fallacy to think that we can imitate a system that has been in existence for hundreds of thousands if not millions of years. Through observation and gathering information about the site, its nearby surroundings, and the people who utilize or will utilize the site, we identify zones of use and sectors of energy that influence or affect the site. Before that, they were considered hunters and gatherers, which has its own connotations. We need small, steady change built upon strong, healthy connections. A-DAE: We need to challenge, as a community, the historical narrative of this country that begins with this idea that the farmer is the true American, and that agriculture is really how our continent was started. Im asking people to stop and say, Look at how we think about agriculture in America and think about whether it included Indigenous People. The answer is it doesnt. We need to be aware of white fragility if we start feeling defensive during racially charged conversations. Decolonization is not a swappable term for other things we want to do to improve our societies and schools. In an indigenous community, there are some things that just cannot be commodified land, water, air, animals, even the health of the people, all of which are considered collective resources. Wikipedia; Wikipedias Plastic shaman entry; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plastic_shaman, FreeFactFinder; FreeFactFinders Pretindian entry; http://freefactfinder.com/definition/Pretindian.html. Decolonizing Permaculture - A Letter From Starhawk How do Native voices become authentically included in the regenerative agriculture conversation? It leaves the common farmer and the common Indigenous person outside of understanding, and thats a problem. The language of science is very minute, talking about atoms and nutrients and carbon. Website + Marketing Support by Viking Mountain Marketing, Exploring the Permaculture Principles through an Equity Lens. For me, it is a process of learning how I passively benefit from my racial and gender privilege. Third, Trauger's suggestions for food-sovereign gov-ernment could have been developed better, including a more careful and strategic reflection about scale. When I see basket-weavers who are weaving from roots that have been affected by pesticides, I worry about them. If responsibility falls to the intervenor, how does that affect contemporary land ownership for those who can afford it? Blogger, coach and permaculture consultant exploring the evolving edges and intersections of permaculture, social justice, radical ecopsychology and resilience PermacultureWomen Follow Tuition includes instruction and lifetime access to the class recordings. Friendships are the building blocks of community. Ive studied it to death, and Im still learning. It is offered so that we may think critically and philosophically about sustainability and our role in our culture as designers of novel ecosystems. Our bi-weekly newsletter provides insights into the people, projects, and organizations creating lasting change in the world. My teacher pulled my paper because I had all the houses together like a pueblo, which I grew up in. Decolonizing Permaculture: Bridging the gap between privilege and More information about our Privacy Policy can be found here. 9/15/20 - Turning Fire Into Water: Permaculture Approaches to Fire Ecology, Preparedness . resilience.org/stories/2016-02-19/decolonizing permaculture. Our award-winning radio and podcast series highlighting diverse voices of grassroots leaders. Is it possible that we can subvert patterns of abuse and oppression by forming honest, lifelong friendships across the divides? The same goes for traditional ecological knowledge. Document access and instructions can be found here. [xi] Daniel Quinn, Ishmael (Bantam/Turner, 1992) and Beyond Civilization (Harmony, 1999). We dont kill the natural systems in order to ensure that we survive, which is what food safety does. Bioneers 2023: Transformation, Regeneration, Celebration, Bioneers Statement on 2023 Conference Dates, 30+ years of leading edge/inspiring talks, conversations and shorts. Decolonizing Permaculture The Eco-Institute at Pickards Mountain And imagine what I could do now if I had a piece of my own land instead of 80 grand in student debt. Shes been living in rural, land-based community since 1995 and at Earthaven Ecovillage since 2000. Decolonizing Permaculture - School of Integrated Living As a bridge to the challenge of bringing a decolonization framework into permaculture practice and pedagogy, I would like to start by mapping those same questions onto permaculture itself. Its important to keep in mind that food is an indicator of the health of a society. I grew up with my sister and our single mom. We now approach a closely related topic that, while important, is big enough that it warrants a separate article. Indigenous People have created the idea of the unknown and the sacred and reverence for where we are as the youngest entity in this place. How do we organize for that kind of vision or dream? Disclaimer: The problem with this type of list is that it asks the privileged reader to discover a sense of empathy based on altruistic inclination: I am asking you to forego the privilege that seems to benefit you, and to give up some of your power and position, in order to build a more just society for everyone else. I know that sounds trite and cliche, but thats because its a truism. This critique is offered to make the evolution of our movement cleaner and more respectful of indigenous cultures, and to find a way to balance Leaver and Taker[xi] cultures, maybe even to unify them. Friendships ask for justice, equality, non-violence, respect, and communication. ARTY: In the webinar you hosted as part of a First Nations Development Institute series on land stewardship, you said that agroecology is a non-indigenous term; its an interpretation of an indigenous way of farming, but not an interpretation by Indigenous People. A friendship asks you to go out of your way to see someone, to help them, and to support their work and their emotions. See inside The Nook at Gateway Neighborhood, The Butterfly House in the Hut Hamlet Neighborhood, and The Hummingbird Apartment at Village Terraces Cohousing. You serve on the National Organic Standard board. of the critical dialogue around permaculture, including its ties with cultural appropriation and white dominance (Watson 2016). The Navajo people do different things than Kiowa people. There are processes in the trees that grow, in the animals that migrate that we just will not know. That was my choice and I dont regret it, but the burden of those loans is crippling.